Mikk Mägi

While the vegan revolution gathers pace across the globe, it would be fair to say that Estonia may have been late to the party.

But now the flag for plant-based eating is well and truly being flown, thanks to the forward thinking skills of Mikk Mägi.

Mikk is behind Estonia’s first vegan restaurant – Vegan Restaurant V – and it is his talent

in the kitchen that is introducing the idea of veganism to a whole new audience.

Initially Mikk’s plan was to work in the construction industry but on his first day at school he realised it was not for him.

Construction’s loss has been cooking’s gain however and he made the decision to apply for culinary school instead.

It hasn’t been an easy path however and Mikk had to navigate a whole host of obstacles.

“They didn’t want to accept my applications because I have a speech disorder and said how could I work in open kitchens,” he revealed.

Determined, he applied to study as a baker- confectioner which gave him his first step on the culinary ladder, eventually successfully applying to – and graduating from – cooking school.

It was while studying that he first became interested in veganism, becoming the first student in the school’s history to prepare vegan food for his thesis.

“I became a vegan because I started watching different videos about what they do with animals and I realized that I personally don’t want to participate in it,” said Mikk.

He also became a voice for animal rights at a time when the topic was virtually unknown in Estonia.

He prepared vegan food for animal protection events and started to build up a catering side to his business, before deciding to open his own vegan restaurant in 2014.

‘’I try to take something good and interesting from every cuisine of the world, and I also try to veganize well-known foods of different national cuisines. At the end of the day, my restaurant’s goal is to just have good food that happens to be vegan,’’ he said.

Although an activist at heart, opening a restaurant and the commitment that takes meant that something had to give – and that meant not quite as much to time to spend on the former.

However his sense of justice burns as brightly as ever and he still supports good causes as much as he can.

When the war in Ukraine started, he started supporting Ukrainian vegan fighters to get them sleeping bags, and even Vegan food supplies.

His team also started supporting a small vegan kitchen that cooked for volunteers and soldiers, and more recently he had his cookbook reprinted, all profits of which went to Ukrainian friends, who in turn bought equipment for their fellow fighter friends.

‘’It can be said that Vegan Restaurant V is actually one of the forms of activism that can change people’s so-called vegan worldview. That calms me down.,” he said.